Doctor Who: The Executor
by Robert H. Gordon Jr
Summary: An entire galaxy is destroyed; wiped out in an instant. The catastrophe stirs bad memories for The Doctor and will force him to resurrect a relic of the Time War and is reminded of the consequences of choice. Featuring original characters. Reviews are welcome. C'mon fellow Whovians, let me know how I'm doing.
1. Hartnell

**Hartnell**

The hour was late, the lights dimmed to a low hue, the gilded control room a dirty bronze. In the center, the flight indicator was steady, dials turning lazily as the TARDIS hovered in the vast emptiness of space. All was quiet, the mood peaceful. The doors stood open, a large red beanbag chair set between them. On the chair, the Doctor and River Song sat staring at a spiraling galaxy of blue stars rotating lazily in the abyss.

"That was some swim," River crooned nestling her wet head against the Doctor's chest.

"Is that what you call it?" the Doctor asked, equally wet.

River closed her eyes, smiling when his lips touched the top of her head. "I know how easily you blush, my love." She looked out at the heavenly display and sighed. "I could sit here forever."

The Doctor glanced at the command console and gave River a squeeze. "Yes, well, we should probably get you back. Your parents will be getting up soon."

River chuckled. "Oh you are absolutely adorable. Although, I don't suppose it would do to get caught by…"

"Get caught by whom?"

The Doctor and River's eyes widened, River ducking down slightly. The Doctor slowly turned, craning his neck and finding Amy Pond standing at the top of the steps leading to the command console. Wearing a robe and nightdress she had an eyebrow arched, her arms crossed over her chest; foot tapped against the floor. The Doctor smiled weakly.

The fiery ginger's eyebrow arched ever higher. "I said, 'get caught by whom' Raggedy Man?" The Doctor moved to speak but she silenced him with a finger. "And, get caught doing what exactly?"

"Stargazing?" offered the Doctor weakly.

"Stargazing?" Amy considered. "Yeah, I'm not buying that." She rolled her eyes. "Melody Pond front and center."

River stood making sure to adjust her blue robe before turning. "Hello mother."

"Don't you 'hello mother' me," chastised Amy. "We'll get to your coming onto the TARDIS and not greeting me or your father. First you are going to answer my previous question."

River shrugged. "Caught doing what it is that married couples do."

"River!"

She turned and smiled at the Doctor. "Sweetie, believe me she understands."

The Doctor withered under Amy's glare. "Yes, I can see that." He stood, adjusting his own robe."

Amy stifled a laugh. "Matching robes? You're _that_ kind of couple?"

River rolled her eyes. "He won't let me pick one of my own."

Amy continued suppressing her mirth, "Matching robes." She paused, her eyes narrowing. "What do you have on under that robe Doctor?"

Inching toward the stairs, the Doctor stopped in his tracks rubbing his fingers against his thumbs, "My swimsuit."

River gave him a mischievous smile. "Is _that_ what you call it?"

Turning to River, he said, "You're not helping."

"No point now," River said biting her lower lip.

Amy pointed. "He's blushing."

"Am not," the Doctor protested.

"Totally blushing," Amy said.

"Time Lords don't blush," the Doctor declared jumping up the stairs and around Amy.

"They so do," Amy countered. She looked to her daughter. "Don't they?"

River put her hands in the pockets of her robe. "I can make him blush everywhere."

The Doctor paused at the console, "Still not helping."

"In any case," Amy said, ending the discussion. "You get dressed Mister. That goes double for you Melody. The last thing we need is for your father to…"

"To what?" asked Rory arriving at the top of the steps leading to the rest of the ship. Also dressed for bed he carried a mug full of tea and scratched at his sleep-inspired hair. He taking a sip he sighed, "That's good. Oh, hey River." He looked at the faces of everyone else and frowned. "What'd I miss?"

"Okay now this is awkward," River said.

Outside there was a flash of light. The doors slammed shut, the TARDIS pitching violently, launching itself into flight. The occupants were hurled to the floor. Alarms sounded. Steam rushed from vents, sparks flying from the console.

The Doctor pulled himself up and ran around the controls, flipping switches and pulling levers. He grabbed the viewing screen pulling it to where he could see. Reading the data, he stabilized the TARDIS with a few more flips and pulls. His jaw dropped, a look of shock and confusion streaking across his face.

"Doctor what happened?" River asked as she got to her feet.

"Rory!" called Amy.

"I'm fine. I just spilled my tea."

"Doctor!"

The Doctor turned the dial on the screen. "It's gone. It's just gone." He looked down at the console and slapped at several buttons before staring back at the screen. An image of the spiral galaxy appeared. There was a streak of light followed by an expanding darkness which consumed every single star before shrinking back to nothing. The Doctor replayed the sequence again.

"Doctor?" said River beside him. She put a hand on his arm. "Sweetie what is it?"

"I need to see something." the Doctor put the TARDIS in flight again, moving around the console like a robed madman. Making a complete turn, he rushed to the doors and threw them open. Outside, the galaxy was back where it belonged.

River appeared alongside him. "Doctor, what is happening?" She gasped as he turned on her and grabbed her arms.

"What is this?" he demanded.

River shook her head. "I don't…"

"No!" the Doctor spat. "No games. No lies. No spoilers. What… is… this?"

"Sweetie, you're hurting me," River said quietly.

The Doctor released her with a snarl and sprinted up the steps, bypassing the console and disappearing down another short flight of stairs and into a hallway; leaving River rubbing at the sore spots on her arms. Amy moved to her placing a hand on her shoulder.

"Are you all right?" she asked.

River nodded looking after the Doctor concerned. "He's afraid. I've never seen him this afraid."

"Does anyone want to tell me what the hell is going on?" Rory asked.

"I caught the Doctor and River having a date, something happened and now we're doing this." Amy said quickly. To River she asked. "Where did he go?"

River started off, "Probably to our bedroom." Amy waited a moment and then followed.

Rory looked out the doors at the spiral galaxy. He suddenly turned. "Wait a minute, 'our' bedroom'?"

In the aforementioned boudoir, the Doctor stood at a dressing table frantically flipping through both his and River's diaries, reading entry after entry searching for answers. He skipped over Easter Island and Jimmy the Fish, passed by times spent riding shooting stars in the Surrelian Galaxy and sliding down the side of the Grassy Mountain of Nordock during the warm summer rains. Their last dalliance was dinner atop the Ephesian Spires listening to romantic music played by a centuries-old band. Tonight's fun had yet to be written. He flipped two more pages and stopped. His hands touched the paper in the diary; blank paper.

He'd had every intention of break his own rules. He was going to look into his own future. River was his future. She was always one step ahead, always. But the diaries were the same. They were completely in sync. He looked up contemplating what that meant.

"Oi, rude!"

The Doctor turned River rushing over and pushing him aside. She picked up her diary and held it away from him. His mouth fighting a sad and shameful grimace he placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. "I'm sorry."

"You should be. It's inconsiderate to read a girl's diary."

The Doctor shook his head. "No for before." He touched her arms. "I shouldn't have done that." He hugged her, rubbing her back. "You didn't deserve it and I should never, ever have done that."

Amy appeared in the doorway. She threw her eyes around the room. It was dome-shaped and done in TARDIS blue with splashes of purple and red. There were doors leading elsewhere and a large circular bed in the center. She noted that it did not look used. She found the Doctor and River embracing.

The Doctor planted a kiss on River's forehead. "As for your diary. Under no circumstances are you to ever…ever let me do that again." He kissed her nose. "I need to get you back to Stormcage."

River caressed his cheek. "If it's that bad, let me help you."

The Doctor shook his head, "Only if I need you."

River smiled, "And you will."

"Then I will come for you," the Doctor said.

"You had better," River countered.

"We really should get dressed," the Doctor starting to smile.

River rushed to the door. "It's all right, mother, reconciliation is a beautiful thing. I'll explain in a minute." She shut the doors.

Amy stood outside, confused.

"So that's _their_ bedroom?" Rory asked from the end of the hall.

Amy turned and rushed past him, taking his hand. "Come on, Stupid Face, whatever's happening we should probably get dressed."


	2. Troughton

**Troughton**

The TARDIS materialized outside River's cell inside Stormcage Containment Facility. The door opened and River stepped out wearing a shimmering evening gown. Her hair, mostly dry, had surrendered to its usual unruly curls. She carried her shoes in one hand and a handbag in the other. The Doctor followed her out, dressed in his typical tweed, suspenders and bowtie. Using his sonic screwdriver, he opened her cell.

River stepped inside. "I had a wonderful time, my love. When you need me…"

The Doctor smiled and gestured around. "I know exactly where to find you. Until next time, River…"

"Oh, one more thing," River interrupted.

The Doctor smiled. "Isn't there always?"

"The music playing in the pool," River started, "what was it?"

The Doctor tapped a hand against the bars, hesitant. "It was the Singing Towers of Durillium." He took a breath "You liked it?"

River nodded, "Very much."

The Doctor smiled. "I suppose I'll have to take you to see them then."

"You promise?"

The Doctor drew x's on both sides of his chest with his fingers. "Cross my hearts." He leaned toward the TARDIS but thought better of it and swept River into his arms for a kiss.

Breathless when they parted, River said, "My parents are likely watching us right now. You should go before they see something truly scandalous." She watched him disappear into the TARDIS. It dematerialized a moment later.

River turned facing the inside of her cell having a small laugh at the Doctor's expense. It was going to be very awkward in that blue box for her beloved husband. She found her prison-issue clothes and set them aside. Reaching under an arm she grasped for her dress' zipper.

"Good evening Doctor Song."

Gasping, River turned. Sitting on her bunk, shrouded in shadow even from the constant lightning outside was a man dressed in a black suit. She could not see his face but knew he was staring at her. She sighed and threw up her hands. "Warden Dantes! While I appreciate your charitable affinity for looking the other way, you could give a girl a heart attack." Turning away, she paused and turned back. "Has anyone ever brought to your attention the irony of a prison warden having the name 'Dantes'?"

"Did you have a good time?"

River smiled. "It got a bit hairy toward the end but all-in-all one for the book." She brandished her diary taking a seat on a stool and crossing her legs. "To what do I owe the pleasure of this visit?"

"You saw the Azure Spiral tonight," the warden said. "Something happened which frightened your good husband."

River's jaw dropped. "How could you possibly know that?"

"I need you to do something for me, Doctor Song," the warden said. "It is of the utmost importance and you cannot fail in it. Your husband is going to scour the universe looking to explain what happened tonight. When he can't, he's going to come back for you. When he does you need to lead him to me."

River whipped out a blaster from underneath her dress, aiming it at the warden as she leapt to her feet. "Who are you? What do you know of him?"

The warden stood a head taller than her. His one hand flashed out, smacking the blaster away. His other grabbed her wrist, forcing her palm to his chest. "You have to get him to find me, River."

River looked at her hand in the warden's iron grip. Under her palm his heartbeat was slow and steady. She looked up into the darkness where his eyes would be. "I suppose his life depends on it?"

"Not his life." The warden moved her hand to the other side of her chest, "His soul."

River stared at her hand feeling the presence of a second heartbeat. She looked up into the shadow. "Dear God, who are you?"

**The Executor**

**The Past…**

The sky was choked with thick black smoke and the sounds of war. Arcadia, Gallifrey's second city was under constant punishing assault by the Daleks. Inside The Citadel, the Time Lords worked frantically trying to mount a suitable defense but their hopes were dwindling fast. This Time War would be the last. Gallifrey was going to fall.

In the midst of the chaos there stood a huge building. Once a prison, it was largely abandoned. Its lone occupant stood at a window watching the chaos outside. Old and dying, he clutched a cane in an iron grip. The carnage beyond the glass tugged at his hearts. Centuries ago he had shown restraint, something others would have thought impossible for him. Seeing the suffering, he began to regret his decision.

Turning from the window he made his way toward his bed. He felt his end approaching and was glad of it. Nearing three millennia in age he was ancient. It was time for ancient things to pass into antiquity. His slipper-clad feet shuffled along the floor, the hem of his maroon and gold robe brushing through dust shaken loose by the explosions outside. The room shook again and more dust found its way into the white wisps of his hair. He did not bother to remove it.

He cast a weary glance in the corner of the room to a door. He gave the portal a tired smile. She was a stubborn old thing, just like her predecessor. He wondered what would happen to her once he was gone. He supposed she would stay with him until the end; stubborn and loyal.

Around him dust blew about in a wind that appearing from nowhere. A wheezing groan came into existence, growing louder by the moment. The old Time Lord stopped as a room materialized around him. Some of it seemed almost organic, like coral. Other bits were definitely artificial; lit white roundels amid an off-white backdrop.

Leaning heavily on his cane he started to turn. "Type-40 TARDIS. I've often wondered who would come for me in the end." He completed his rotation. "Old man, you were not on my short list."

Standing at the console was an old man. Dressed in high leather boots with bloused pants, a tattered waistcoat, scarf, and a weathered leather coat, he was one of Gallifrey's most controversial figures. His face was covered by a gray moustache and goatee. His hair was equally gray and slightly spiked. A bandolier draped across his chest carried a single sonic screwdriver. He took his hands off the console, turning, and clasped them behind his back.

"Old man?" he mused, his voice a weary rasp, "You're one to talk."

"Lord Doctor," the man said with a slight incline of his head.

The Doctor held up a hand looking away. "Please don't call me that." He bowed in turn. "Lord Executor."

The Executor gestured around the room. "What is the meaning of this?"

"I've come to pardon you for your crimes," the Doctor said. "Consider it an act of clemency in light of the current events."

"I've seen what awaits me outside," the Executor said. "Gallifrey falls. I think I'll stay here. I don't have much time anyway."

"Yes," the Doctor said. "I've seen your records at High Command. You are dying Lord Executor. You refuse healing. You even refuse regeneration."

"You know what they want of me," the Executor growled, his blue eyes smoldering with disgust. "I won't do it. And if they've sent you, you and this ancient bucket can go back and tell them something vulgar."

"I have no intention of visiting High Command today," the Doctor said, "or ever." He looked to a bag sitting on the command console.

The Executor regarded the seemingly innocuous parcel. "Is that what I think it is?" The Doctor nodded. The Executor took a grave breath. "So, the Doctor has finally come across his first truly terminal condition. Is he ready? Can he do it? Are you ready to be me?"

The Doctor sat back against the console and bowed his head. "It's too much, this blasted war. The universe burns throughout Creation. It needs to end."

"I see it as well as you," the Executor said. He considered the statement and bobbed his head. "Hmm, almost as well. I lost my glasses a while back." He flicked his gaze to the other Time Lord. "So what is this?"

"Gallifrey will fall," the Doctor said. "So will the Daleks. There will be nothing left of either of us. One more moment of violence and we will be an echo. If that is all there is to be, let it be the first of us to see this folly for what it is. Let it be the first of us who said 'no more'."

The Executor pointed his cane towards the TARDIS doors. "There are countless others; children out there who deserve your mercy. Why not take them? Why not take all of them?"

"If I took the children, the Daleks would know," The Doctor said. "They would know and this opportunity would be lost. And even if I succeeded, all that would remain would be the Daleks and a race of orphans with a mind for vengeance. The war will abate for a time and then it will continue and the universe will burn again. You are different. You understand."

"I am no different," the Executor said. "My thirst for vengeance did not die with my will to seek it. I still _crave_ retribution."

"But not at the cost of the universe!" the Doctor snapped. "The High Council offered you anything! You refused. They threatened your life, the lives of your family and friends. You refused. They offered you freedom, riches, prominence, power unimaginable. You refused. They even offered to shatter the laws of Time; to…"

"That's enough," the Executor interrupted pointing his cane. "You've made your point."

"You could end this even now," the Doctor said. "You could make my choice moot, but you know what that would mean and so you refuse. You, Lord Executor, stand on the highest principle. You are what it means to be Time Lord. If there is to be anything left of us, it should be you."

"A sinner," the Executor said.

"We are all sinners. You were the first to turn toward the light," the Doctor countered.

The Executor sighed. "Stubborn to the last." He nodded. "If I am to…continue I cannot be a Time Lord. I will not. Do you still have it?"

The Doctor looked up toward the ceiling, the TARDIS lowering a helmet-like device on a cable. The Doctor handed it to the Executor who produced a fob watch from his robe and set it in a round socket that would rest on his forehead. He placed it on and secured it. A Chameleon Arch, it would alter his biology.

"I remember your constant banter about humans. Flawed but always seeking to be better. I think I'd like to be that." the Executor said. He looked down at himself, seeing and feeling his age. "I suppose I'll have to regenerate now. The pain of this thing will kill me like this." He closed his eyes and relaxed, no longer denying himself.

The Doctor stepped back as the Executor radiated golden regenerative energy. "I'll begin as soon as it's complete."

The brilliant hue moving into his eyes, the Executor turned to the Doctor. "This will change you, you know; this choice. You'll be a different man. Should you survive…"

"I doubt it."

"If it happens," the Executor said, "and the choice comes round again, you may come for me. But before you restore me you must ask a question. If the answer to that question is anything other than 'yes', run. Run faster and farther than you've ever run in your life."

"What is the question?" the Doctor asked. The Executor told him. The Doctor winced as the Executor blazed into regeneration. Turning to the console, he waited for the light to die before flipping the switch.

**The Executor**

"You're a good man for bringing him here, sir."

The nurse wheeled the young boy into a small room adorned with a bed and bathroom. Dressed in a hospital gown he was a new admission into Bastion Hall a mental health facility. The nurse backed out of the room and closed the door, turning to the man who had brought the child in for care. She ushered the older gentleman towards the nurse's station.

"We have a few forms for you to fill out and that will be it."

The Doctor held up the completed paperwork. "Already finished," he said. He turned looking towards the room containing the humanized Time Lord. "I trust he'll be well cared for?"

"The best care," the nurse assured. "Will you be visiting?"

"It may be a while before I return but I'll look in on him yes," the Doctor said. "I'll just say a quick good-bye and be on my way."

The nurse nodded and went back to her work. The Doctor went to the door not entering. He clasped his hands in front of him and bowed slightly. "Hail the Executor, Last of the Time Lords."

His ancient ears registered a repetitive whooshing noise and a door appeared in the hallway. The perception filter would make it almost unnoticeable to the staff and patients of the facility but the Doctor knew a TARDIS when he saw one. He walked over and placed a hand against it, feeling wood but sensing the vastness behind it.

"I'm afraid he'll no longer have need of you," the Doctor said. He smiled. "Just as stubborn as he is." He held up a silver fob watch. "I'll be keeping this for now. Watch over him."


	3. Pertwee

**Pertwee**

**The Present…**

The Doctor flipped several more switches and pulled three levers before grabbing the viewing screen and yanking it in front of him. He watched the event play out again. Having ditched his jacket he was in rolled shirtsleeves flipping more switches and running through another set of calculations. Frustrated he pushed the screen aside and leaned against the console. "Not possible," he muttered. "Not possible, but there it is." He sighed.

"You've been at it for hours," Amy said from behind him. "Are you going to share or what?"

"The Azure Spiral," the Doctor said.

"Yeah, it's gone."

The Doctor spun on her. "No, not gone. It's destroyed. There's a difference. The galaxy, all its stars and all its planets and every living thing in it was destroyed; countless lives ended in a flash. We barely escaped. The TARDIS had to shift us in both time and space and even then we took some damage." He turned back to the console.

Amy looked at the screen and the recording of the event. "So what is this then?"

"It's a projectile fired into the black hole at the heart of the galaxy," The Doctor said.

"How did it survive the trip?" Amy asked. The Doctor gave her a look. "Hey you've got a library. Rory leaves books lying around. A black hole destroys everything that goes into it. How did, whatever that is, survive?"

The Doctor put the TARDIS in flight. "I don't know."

"Have you seen anything like this before?" she asked.

The Doctor worked at the controls. "Once." He turned to Amy and flashed a reassuring smile that melted as soon as it appeared.

"How did it happen last time?"

"I don't know."

"Who does?" Amy asked. The Doctor did not answer moving around to the other side of the console. She followed, "Doctor, who knows how that thing works?" He glanced at her not answering. "Not to state the obvious, Raggedy Man, but finding the person who knows how your projectile works would probably help."

The Doctor pulled the main control lever and looked up at the ceiling exasperated. "I can't."

"You can't?"

"I can't."

"Why not?"

"I just can't."

"All those lives, all those stars and you 'just can't'?" Amy prodded. "You have to. What if it happens again? What if it happens to Earth?"

The Doctor stepped away from the console and wrung his hands. "Amy, you don't know what it is you're suggesting." He grabbed his jacket hanging over the railing, whirling into it as he headed for the doors. "Stay here."

"Where are we?" Amy asked.

"Just popping in to see River, won't be a minute."

Outside River waited for him dressed in boots; billowing white pants bloused just so and her brown tank top. A holster was on her hips complete with blaster and there was a bag over her shoulder. Her hair was wild, her expression grave. She gave him a tight smile.

"Hello sweetie," the Doctor said trying to appear cavalier. "Thought I'd give it a try this time, see how it felt. I don't like it. You do it better."

"I know why you're here," River said quietly. "I'm coming with you."

"I don't need your help," the Doctor said.

"You don't have a choice." River took a breath. "My mother suggested that you do something. She just did. You don't want to. The very idea frightens you. It frightens you worse than that night six months ago. To be uncharacteristically honest, it frightens me too."

"You're telling me…"

"You have to," River said. "Do you understand?"

"Do _you_ understand?" the Doctor hissed.

River swallowed and nodded. "Yes, I do."

**The Executor**

Later, the TARDIS having flown to their next destination, the Doctor threw a heavy look at River, Rory, and Amy before he stepped outside. The Doctor had given them strict instructions to stay in the TARDIS. River promised to make sure his wishes were met. This did not sit well with her mother.

"We can't just let him face what's out there alone," Amy said.

"Mother, normally I would agree but this is something you cannot help him with," River replied. Standing at the console she flipped a switch locking the door.

"Melody Pond, you unlock that door right now!" Amy scolded. She turned her glare to Rory. "She's your daughter, do something!"

"She also knows what's going on," Rory said, gesturing toward their child.

"Fat lot of good you are," Amy said crossing her arms in a huff. She turned. "Well if you know so much, tell us. Tell us what's going on."

River took a seat on the stairs. "It started during the Time War. He's told you about the Time War?"

"Vaguely," Rory said. "It doesn't seem to be a subject he likes to discuss."

River nodded. "Well during the War there was a Time Lord; Gallifrey's most celebrated warrior, responsible for the deaths of millions of Daleks. In his heyday it was said they feared his wrath above all others."

"Now he fancies tweed and thinks bowties are cool," Amy said with a shrug.

River shook her head. "No I'm talking about someone far older and for whom death and destruction came far more easily. He was called, the Executor."

**The Executor**

Outside the TARDIS, the Doctor walked the corridors of the Bastion Hall. As he got nearer to his destination, the object in his jacket pocket seemed to sense what was going on, moving against his chest as if the metal itself was alive. Approaching the door he saw an extra closet out of the corner of his eye.

"Still here, huh?" he said nervously. "Is he in?" He nodded rubbing his hands together and knocking twice.

"Come in."

The Doctor entered. The room was just as white and blank as he remembered, the single bed immaculate. Sitting in a wheelchair in the middle of the room was a man, looking the same age as the Doctor's current body. Handsome and fit though with darker more exotic features, his head was bald. His eyes, hazel and quick, regarded his visitor with cautious curiosity.

"Are you a doctor?"

"Of sorts," the Doctor replied.

"You look afraid."

The Doctor swallowed. "Just nerves, first day and all. What's your name?"

"Dantes."

"Well, Mister Dantes, this session will be a bit unorthodox," the Doctor said. "I'm going to ask you a question. There are no right or wrong answers. I just want you to be as truthful as you can."

"All right."

The Doctor took a breath. "Do your dreams frighten you?"

The man known as Dantes seemed stricken by the question. "I don't want to do this now."

The Doctor grabbed the doorknob behind him. "I'll come back later." He turned to leave.

"Wait," Dantes said. "I'm sorry. Please don't go."

"I have to." said the Doctor, facing the door.

"Why?"

"Because you told me to."

"Well don't." Dantes stood and walked toward his bed. "I apologize. I was struck by the question. They stopped asking about my dreams a long time ago." He picked up a tattered sketch book. "I want you to look at something and tell me what you think." He handed it over.

"My dreams do not frighten me, doctor," the man said. "They horrify me beyond imagination. I dread sleeping for fear that I won't be able to wake up. And there are times when…times when they feel less like dreams and more like memories."

The Doctor flipped through the pages. Inside he found penciled drawings of stars and planets, letters written in Gallifreyan, drawings of Daleks and violence, images of Time Lords. One in particular was a woman with dark hair and fierce defiance on her face. Beneath her picture was a love sonnet written in Gallifreyan. There was a picture of a man kneeling in a pile of rubble surrounded by bodies. The sky was drawn black. To anyone else, the man would seem to be on fire. The Doctor knew he was in the middle of regenerating and it was a self-portrait.

**The Executor**

Inside the TARDIS, River continued her story. "At the height of the war, a group of Daleks killed the woman he loved and did so in a fashion that was especially cruel. Enraged, he went after them destroying world after world, collapsing stars, and causing unimaginable suffering in the name of revenge. Time and time again he came close to satisfying his anger, only to be thwarted. Then he cornered the Daleks in a galaxy known as Iome."

"What did he do?" Rory asked.

"Did it have anything to do with what we saw?" Amy chimed in.

River nodded. "The Executor fashioned a weapon; a terrible weapon. He set it loose and an entire galaxy was destroyed. The resultant chaos saw the deaths of countless beings and the decimation of life in a neighboring galaxy. His TARDIS was destroyed. His crew was killed. He barely survived. Crawling from the ruin of his ship on a planet scorched by his folly, his body dying; it is said he looked on what he had done and went mad with despair."

Amy took Rory's hand as they listened, rapt. "What happened next?"

"The Time Lords came for him," River said. "He expected a reckoning but instead was hounded for his secrets. He told them nothing. They imprisoned him for treason. He told them nothing. Threats, bargains, torture and he told them nothing. They kept him locked away until Gallifrey's last day. It was the Doctor who freed him and brought him here."

"But if the Doctor and he are on such good terms, then why be afraid?" asked Rory.

"The Doctor hates the Daleks," River said, "and with good reason. But he is able to see reason. Outside that door is a man who abandoned all reason and very nearly destroyed the entire universe."

"Until he saw reason," Rory offered.

River's nodded. "That is the hope."

The door opened and the Doctor entered. He walked past the group to the console. Yanking on the main control lever, the TARDIS shuddered lifting off. He was quiet walking around the console, adjusting this and that. He found the others staring at him.

"The suspense is killing us," River said.

Amy, "Was he there?"

Rory, "Did he help?"

"Do you still have the watch?" River asked.

The Doctor looked away. "No."

"So now what?" Amy asked.

The Doctor pulled a few more levers. "I'm taking the two of you home. River will be going back to Stormcage."

Rory, "Are you sure?"

"Not a chance," said Amy.

River, "You've bumped your head."

The Doctor's expression was weighed down by his centuries of life. "This is not up for discussion. Whatever happens next will not involve my wife or her parents. You all are too important."

Amy pointed. "And this is why we need to go with you. You're getting emotional and…you know how you are when that happens."

The Doctor pulled another lever. He glanced at Rory giving him a slight nod. Rory grabbed Amy holding her tight. The Doctor pulled the main control lever. To him, the Ponds dematerialized. To them the TARDIS disappeared, leaving them in their living room.

River marched up the steps visibly irate. "That was cruel."

"But necessary," the Doctor replied.

"You won't be doing the same to me," River said. "You need me for this."

The Doctor stopped working and leaned against the console. "And how do you know that?"

"Because he told me," River said.

The Doctor stood straight, shocked. "You spoke with him, how?"

River nodded. "Who is the warden of Stormcage?"

"Novarius Dantes," the Doctor answered. He pointed at her. "That's how you're always in the same cell, never isolation or stasis. He was looking the other way preparing for this."

River nodded. "And he said you would need me."

The Doctor closed his eyes and sighed. "So what's next?"

River stepped to the console and took control of the TARDIS. "We need to trace the origin of that projectile."

"What about him?" the Doctor asked, mirroring her movements.

"I suspect he'll catch up," River said. She caught the Doctor's look. "Well he didn't tell me everything, would you?"

The Doctor shook his head and adjusted a few dials. On the view screen he watched the playback of the incident. "Right, so this object was traveling close to the speed of light but not quite. If we calculate its exact speed and estimate the blast radius while taking into account the best distance for data acquisition…"

"Data acquisition?" asked River. "You think it was a test?"

"The beings in that galaxy were primitive," the Doctor said. "Electric light would've been witchcraft to them, interstellar war the stuff of myth. Yes, this was a test." The Doctor pressed a few more keys on the console, his head snapping back up to the screen. An image of another galaxy appeared along with a dot and a set of space-time coordinates.

"We have it then?" River asked.

The Doctor pulled the flight control lever.


	4. Baker T

**Baker T.**

"I understand what you're saying Doctor Hardy but you've got your data. Why do you still need Stewart?"

The speaker was a penitent man. Short and stocky with thinning sandy hair and brown eyes. He was dressed in a blue jumpsuit an ID badge around his neck. Doctor Hardy was a tall thin fellow with a quick purposeful step and a cold gleam in his bespectacled eyes. His white lab coat flared out behind him as he made his way toward his laboratory.

It was the thirty-fifth century and the penitent man and his son were aboard a space station run by the Interstellar Navy's Research and Development Division. The environment bare. Lacking any creature comforts, they seemed to be traversing the black skeleton of a massive beast. Even the many lights, done in blue, were not enough to keep back an omnipresent darkness. It was as if the station were in a constant state of night.

"Mister Dougherty we are just getting the rest of the data now," Hardy said in his sharp flat tone. "We need to analyze it completely. Then there's the equation. We still don't fully understand it. We need to do both of these things before you can go."

"But you said we could leave once there was a prototype built. Then you said you needed a successful test. Now it's about data and equations. What's next?"

Hardy turned, Dougherty nearly colliding with him. "There is no 'next'." He placed a hand on Dougherty's shoulder. "Max, we're nearly there. Solving the equation is just taking longer than we anticipated. You are doing a good thing; making history. This technology will revolutionize the human race. Transportation, Commerce, Defense, we are entering a new golden age and it's all because of you and your son. You should be proud."

"When can I see him?" Max asked.

"I am going to look in on him now," Hardy answered. "Afterward, we'll be crunching numbers for the next few hours. You can take him to the recreation decks then."

"He doesn't like it there," Max said.

"He's a boy, Max," Hardy replied. "Genius or no, a seven-year-old needs to have fun." He turned and headed towards a secured door.

Max sighed going to a nearby window. Looking into space he saw into his own worried mind. They had been there nearly a year; the government seeking to put his son's abnormally high intelligence to use. Initially Max was open, even proud of the work his son was able to do. The boy's mother had been out of the picture since he was two and he needed the help. The scientists and their world seemed to be just the thing for Stewart. Now he was not so sure. A few weeks ago they had begun restricting his access and limiting their time together. The story was that the boy was helping them understand his mysterious equation. For a father missing and worried for his son, it was torture.

**The Executor**

Inside the secured levels, Doctor Hardy was met by a lab assistant. "He's asking about his son again?"

"In his usual idiotic way," Hardy said dismissively. "Some people just cannot see the bigger picture."

"We've kept them apart for almost three days now, sir," the assistant said. "It might be a good idea to let them see each other."

"Has the subject cracked our latest equation?" Hardy asked, ignoring the suggestion.

"This morning," the assistant said. "He did it in less than five minutes. You say he's had no formal education in quantum physics?"

"None whatsoever," Hardy said proudly. "What is he doing now?"

"Coloring," the assistant replied. They came to a large window.

"Useless," Hardy scoffed. He looked inside and saw a young boy with sandy hair and bright expressive eyes sitting at table, coloring a picture of a dinosaur. The room was white and had the basic necessities along with some childish comforts. There was no privacy, all the walls clear. While the window Hardy stood at was perfectly transparent the other three were covered with the much-debated equation that they had been unable to solve. Portions of it had been deciphered and put to use, including the manufacturing of their Infinity Bomb. The rest was an unknown with endless possibilities.

**The Executor**

In a secluded section of the station, the TARDIS materialized. The door opened and the Doctor emerged, his sonic screwdriver leading. He took a few readings of his surroundings before collapsing the device and returning it to the inside pocket of his jacket. Behind him River appeared. Checking her blaster she'd added a white jacket to her outfit.

"So this is it?" she asked.

"Yes, thirty-fifth century space station," the Doctor said. "Military judging from the smell of it." He licked his finger and held it up in the air for a moment before putting it back in his mouth, "Navy."

River closed the TARDIS doors. "You saw the insignia on the wall behind us."

The Doctor made a wry face. "You always have to take the amazing out of everything."

"You forget who you're with, my love." River said, "Gonna take a lot more than that to impress me." From a pocket she removed a square box and activated it. "Well this is definitely where our projectile came from." She turned to the Doctor, "Fancy a quick look around?" She found him staring at a door. "What is it?"

The Doctor nodded grimly. "You can come out now."

"It took you long enough. I was starting to get bored."

River turned around and found the speaker. In all her time at Stormcage she had never seen his face. It was young with a slightly smug expression covering a haunting sadness. His head was shaved completely shining in the low light of the area, his skin a smooth caramel color, eyes hazel with a somewhat predatory glint.

He dressed in the colors of the Time Lords. Dark brown leather boots rising to his knees. Bloused inside were burgundy military pants. He wore a roomy bronze shirt beneath a waistcoat which matched his pants featuring a cloth drape which hung to his knees and a leather mantle with a high collar and open neck. On the left breast there was a Gallifreyan crest done in subdued gold. On his forearms he wore leather gauntlets featuring the same crest.

"Lord Executor," the Doctor nodded.

"Lord Doctor," the Executor bowed. He looked to the woman. "Interesting. Not quite human. Not quite Time Lord but the scent of both. Who are you enchanting lady?"

River smiled at the flattery, "River Song, Misses Lord Doctor to you." She turned to her husband. "I rather like that title."

The Executor flashed a wink at the Doctor, "Misses? Well done Doctor."

"If we've dispensed with the pleasantries there is work to be done," the Doctor said.

The Executor's face turned stern. "What has happened?"

"Someone's figured out your secret," the Doctor replied.

"Impossible," the Executor said though his face indicated concern.

River moved over, holding up her device. Playing the destruction of the Azure Spiral for him, she watched horror and shame play across his face before his jaw set and determination won out. "What can you tell us about this?"

"This occurred at a single point in time?" the Executor asked.

"Yes," the Doctor answered. He took the device from River, pointing at it. "How did they do it?"

"Who is 'they'?" the Executor asked.

"We traced the projectile's origin here," River said. "It's a human military station."

"Human?" the Executor frowned. He looked around. "Let's get inside. If this is military, a patrol will be coming through soon. The Doctor headed towards his TARDIS. The Executor stopped him. "No, we'll use the TARDIS with a functioning chameleon circuit. I can't believe you haven't fixed that yet, it's been how long?"

They followed him towards a door. It split in half and slid apart. They stepped through into a strange room. The walls silvery white, the chamber was ovular in shape, coming to a point across from them. There were five chairs with four-point securing harnesses. A sixth chair stood at the apex of the oval, set in the center of an arch-shaped console. Semi-transparent screens hovered over the console displaying various bits of data. The room was not as large as the Doctor's control room, but it was a TARDIS nonetheless.

River looked around, awe and wonder on her face. "Sweetie you really need to redecorate."

"His is a military TARDIS," the Doctor said with a dismissive wave. "Ours is a science vessel. Don't go getting all bug-eyed over another man's car."

River smiled, "Stop being jealous."

"If you two are done," the Executor said, standing at his station. He held out his hand. The Doctor gave him River's device. The Executor placed it into a slot in the center of the console. A screen appeared and filled with information.

River examined the flight controls for the Executor's TARDIS. "It's not a car, sweetie, it's a motorbike."

"I have a motorbike," the Doctor said.

"You have a scooter," River said.

The Executor read the scrolling information. Sitting, he swiveled his chair center and pulled it underneath the console. "I don't believe it. This technology is centuries beyond any race of humanity I've ever encountered."

The Doctor stepped up behind him. "How close is it to your design?"

"Too close. There's only missing one component," the Executor said.

"For those of us who were not alive during the Time War," said River with a huff.

"My missile was basically an implosion bomb with matter/antimatter propulsion," the Executor said, "the payload partially infused with dark matter."

"The matter/antimatter giving it its speed the dark matter allowing it to survive the event horizon," the Doctor explained. "The black hole would achieve infinite density in an instant and then crush itself under its own weight."

The Executor sighed. "But it wasn't enough. When cornered, the Daleks would escape by leaping about in time; jumping backward a few seconds and escaping. The last addition to the payload was a core of energy from the Time Vortex. The blast just wasn't at that point in time. It was all points in time."

The Doctor stared at him in horror, "If any of your calculations were wrong; if you were off by the minutest degree…"

The Executor's shame was obvious. "I knew. I didn't care."

The Doctor stepped forward and placed a hand on his shoulder. "What the High Council would have done with that kind of power."

"I know that too," the Executor said. "The damage they would have caused. The humans don't know about the Time Vortex." He turned. "We need to make sure they never discover it. I barely got it right. They will surely get it wrong."

"What happens if it goes wrong?" asked River.

"Even without the Time Vortex energy," The Executor said. "Imagine if they managed to strike the center of the universe."

"The universe has no center," River said. "At the outset of the Big Bang, time and space erupted everywhere at once."

"But the singularity that it sprang from has a source," the Doctor said. "If that source were to suddenly blaze to infinite density it would undo everything."

"You said this is the projectile's origin?" the Executor asked.

"Yes," the Doctor answered.

The Executor nodded. "We need to ensure that all information regarding that weapon resides here and only here. Then we destroy the station." He slid back from the console and stood.

"And what about the people on this station?" asked the Doctor. The Executor gave him a look. "Oh you are so predictable. Just kill them all? Is that your solution to everything?"

"You don't need to be here for this," the Executor said. "I can do it."

"Like you've always done," the Doctor snapped. "Of course, that's what you do, eh? The Executor, handling execution in all its forms. I should've left you in your padded room."

"And when I'm done you can put me back," the Executor replied. He headed for the door. The Doctor grabbed his arm. The Executor rounded on him, shoving him backward. He pointed outside. "They are meddling with forces beyond their comprehension. They need to be stopped before they do more damage!"

"We don't know their intentions," the Doctor said.

"Their intentions?" the Executor yelled, his eyes wide in disbelief. "They could've used the dark matter core for something like energy production or starship propulsion. Instead they used it to slaughter a billion, billion beings! Oh their intentions are obvious, Doctor, obvious to everyone except you!"

The Doctor held up his hands. "You're right. You're absolutely right. They made a mistake, but that's what they do. They make mistakes. That's how they get better."

"Not at the expense of the universe," the Executor said.

"This is one mind," the Doctor pleaded, "just one. We find that mind, we change it and the threat goes away."

"A mind that can be changed, can change back," the Executor said.

"Then what does that mean for you?" River said taking a step forward.

"Try it my way first," the Doctor said. "Just let me try. If it doesn't work," he swallowed and took a breath, "if it doesn't work we'll do it your way."

The Executor leaned in close, "Remember you said that." At the door he pressed his palm to the wall. A circle lit and the wall slid away revealing a compartment. Inside was a metal rod. Two feet long and thick as a broom's handle, it was dingy gray with black anodized rings and a curved glossy black bulb at one end. He twirled it inside the drape of his waistcoat where it disappeared before stepping aside. "Lead the way Lord Doctor."


	5. Davison

**Davison**

The trio exited the Executor's TARDIS, traveling up several levels before coming to a computer interface mounted on a wall. The Doctor scanned it with his sonic screwdriver before delving into its memory. He looked over station schematics, defensive capabilities, power outputs and uses, and the menu for the mess hall before coming to personnel records.

"Right, we need to find the leader of this little group," the Doctor said.

"Look under 'chain of command'," the Executor said.

The Doctor, turning slightly held up a finger. "Normally you'd be right but that catastrophe was just a test. A test implies research and development which means the military is just here to babysit. The leader of this group will be the one in charge of the scientific team. That person is a…Doctor Jacob Hardy. His is the mind we need to change. River I'm sending you his particulars."

"Can you use that thing to access their security feeds?" the Executor asked.

The Doctor waved his screwdriver over the monitor. The screen fizzled with static before clearing. The Doctor checked the screwdriver. "No, they're using some form of encryption. It's going to take a while to crack it."

The Executor stepped back drawing the metal rod from his waistcoat and pointed it at the interface. There were two whooping chirps and the screen changed to images of other places throughout the facility.

The Executor twirled his tool and tucked it away. "Try it now."

The Doctor stepped in front of the screen and began his search. "I'll access their facial recognition. We'll have him in a few seconds."

River leaned in with a smile. "Why is his so much bigger than yours?"

"Really?" asked the Doctor and Executor in unison.

Smiling, River checked her device, "Doctor Jacob Hardy is in his forties, never married, brilliant by all accounts. He's been with the military for nearly twenty years, working on numerous weapons projects and a few projects with special tags on them. This is one of them. They call it 'Project Supremacy'. Not the most original moniker."

She knelt beside the Doctor and removed a panel from the wall. Using a small set of tools she patched her device into the interface's connections. "I'm going to find out exactly what's so supreme about this operation."

**The Executor**

Inside his personal laboratory, Doctor Hardy stared at a section of Stewart's equation. Nearly through its solution, the answer appeared to require some sort of conduit of time that would have to exist outside of three-dimensional space. The levels of energy needed to prove the theorem were staggering but not impossible. The door to his lab opened and his assistant appeared.

"Sir!"

"What is it?" Hardy snapped.

"One of our technicians just reported an unauthorized access of our systems from a terminal outside the restricted area," the assistant said.

Hardy waved him off. "Notify the Commander and have him deal with it."

"Well, sir, they're inside your personnel file and the files of the project," the assistant said.

Hardy turned from his work. "In that case have the Commander hold them for interrogation." He turned back to the equation. "Let me know when we have them."

**The Executor**

Back at the terminal, River was hard at work, reviewing the documents. "It seems the entire project centers around some sort of equation posited by someone named Stewart Dougherty."

"Is there a picture of the equation?" the Doctor asked.

"No," River said. The screen on her device changed and she put her hand to her mouth in shock. Then it went blank along with the interface.

"Uh-oh," the Doctor tried resurrecting the screen to no avail. "Not good."

The Executor looked around. "I suppose we should expect company soon." He drew his tool. "If they're proficient they'll be here in less than thirty seconds. You might want to get ready with that blaster, Misses Lord Doctor."

The Doctor saw the Executor and River ready for a fight. He placed his hands on theirs lowering their chosen weapons. "No, we can use this to our advantage." The corridor filled with the sound of rushing boots and weapons being primed to fire. Then they were surrounded, facing a squad of armed troops. The Doctor raised his hands. "Unarmed, we're unarmed!" He bobbed his head. "Well she is armed but we come in peace."

"Really?" said River and the Executor in unison.

A bear of a man in a black battle-dress uniform bearing officer's insignia on his collar moved to the front of his troops. His face square and sternly set, he regarded the trio with piercing blue eyes underneath frowning eyebrows. "My name is Commander Bellows."

The Doctor smiled. "Hello, I'm the Doctor. This is Doctor River Song and the Executor. Just popped in to see Doctor Hardy, need to speak to him regarding your new missile."

"Confiscate their weapons and bring them to Interrogation," Commander Bellows said.

"We would really like to speak with Doctor Hardy first," the Doctor said.

"Don't worry, he'll get his turn," Commander Bellows said.


	6. Baker C

**Baker C.**

Several hours later, Doctor Hardy met with Commander Bellows inside an observation room where the Commander watched their new captives. Bellows studied them scratching his chin. Doctor Hardy gave them a cursory glance, unimpressed.

"Have they said anything?" he asked.

"The one in the jacket and bowtie won't shut up," Commander Bellows said. "I've never heard anyone say so much while saying nothing at all. The woman just keeps flirting with her guards and playing coy."

"And the dark one?"

Bellows leaned in close. "He's dangerous. Soldier from what I can tell. He hasn't said a word." Bellows stepped back when it appeared the Executor was returning his stare. He shook off the feeling. "Still it's the first that concerns me the most."

"Why is that?" Hardy asked.

"He has the mind of a spy," Bellows said. "His assessments are furtive and covert but he is sizing us up. I can tell the intentions of your 'dark one'. He means to see this place undone. His talkative partner, I just don't know."

"So why not kill them and be done with it?" Doctor Hardy suggested. "Eliminate the threat."

Bellows turned. "This station is shielded from all known forms of detection. Our mission is classified to the highest levels of Command. Only three people in the chain even know we are in operation. Two of them know where. One of them is standing next to you."

"So?"

"How did they find us?" Bellows asked. "How did they get aboard? Are there others like them?" He paused for a moment. "Why do they want to talk to you?"

Doctor Hardy's eyebrow twitched; his version of surprise. "Me?"

"Bowtie asked for you specifically," Bellows replied.

Doctor Hardy nodded. "Interesting. I will get to the bottom of this. Bring me the woman."

"Getting lonely, Doctor?"

"No she seems the most useless," Doctor Hardy said, looking down his nose at her image. "I want to get her out of the way first."

**The Executor**

A few minutes later River was thrust inside a small room. She turned to her guards and gave them a winning smile. "Thanks for seeing a girl to her room, boys." She turned, the door closing her smile immediately evaporating.

"I want to make this quick as I believe your cohorts are going to be far more intriguing," Doctor Hardy said.

"You would be correct Doctor Hardy," River said, "but we can still have a bit of fun before the end."

"Interesting choice of words," Doctor Hardy mused. "They tell me your name is River Song."

"My name is not important," River said. Her face a neutral mask she said, "You are not likely to live long enough to remember it."

Doctor Hardy's eyebrow twitched. "Is that so? Do you intend to kill me?"

River grinned and shook her head. "Oh no, that would make my husband ever so cross."

"So you _are_ involved with the dark one," Doctor Hardy commented. "I suspected as much."

"Your suspicions are incorrect," River said, crossing her arms. "Don't get me wrong, he is a heaping helping of tall, dark and dangerous but he's not nearly crazy enough for a psychopath like me. I prefer my lunatics in bowties and the occasional fez. That being said it is likely that 'the dark one' will be dealing with you at the end of this."

"And why would he do that?"

"We saw what you did," River said. "We know what you're doing. We are here to stop you. My husband hopes, like always, to negotiate. He hopes that you will see reason but, from the moment I saw you, I could see that you have no intention of stopping. You're going to pursue your folly through to the end. I wish I could say I'm sorry, but I'm not."

"Oh?"

"I know what you're doing with that child," River said.

"Remarkable boy," Doctor Hardy said with a smile.

"I don't doubt it," River replied. "How long have you had him penned up in that oversized glass jar?"

"Does that bother you?" Doctor Hardy probed. "Yes, it bothers you personally. Is it possible you have spent some time in an 'oversized glass jar' of your own?"

River's smile was ice cold. "Yes I have. And because of that, I'm going to thoroughly enjoy watching your comeuppance."

"I'll remember you said that when I'm dissecting your corpse," Doctor Hardy said.

River chuckled. "Dear Doctor Hardy, please stop flirting. I'm a married woman, remember?"

**The Executor**

Several minutes after River was ushered out the Doctor was shoved inside. He brushed off his jacket and threw a small salute to his guards before turning and rubbing his hands together. "Doctor Hardy I presume."

"And you are called 'the Doctor'," Doctor Hardy said. "Doctor Who?"

The Doctor waved off the question. "No 'who', just 'the Doctor'."

"All right, Doctor, why are you here?" Doctor Hardy asked.

"To save you," the Doctor replied.

"From him?"

"He is called the Executor," the Doctor said.

"An interesting name," Doctor Hardy mused.

"I always thought so," the Doctor agreed.

"Why do you think he chose that name?"

"One of these days I'll ask him," the Doctor answered.

"So I am in danger?"

"Extreme danger," the Doctor agreed.

"But you brought him with you," Doctor Hardy posed.

"Yes just in case," the Doctor said.

"In case what?"

"In case I can't save you," the Doctor said.

"Save me from him?"

"No, from yourself," the Doctor said. "You fired a missile destroying an entire galaxy and every living thing in it. You are guilty of genocide on a scale I've not seen in centuries and it was only a test. The potential for more deaths cannot be allowed. The Executor believes that the only way to prevent further bloodshed is for you to cease to exist."

"And you believe differently?" Doctor Hardy asked.

"I hope differently," the Doctor corrected.

Doctor Hardy narrowed his gaze, silent for a few moments. "Commander Bellows thinks you a spy. I see the eye of a scientist. There is something I want to show you."

Leading the way, Doctor Hardy and the Doctor exited the room. Flanked by two armed guards, they headed toward the laboratories. Once inside, Hardy swept his arms in a grand gesture. "Behold, Doctor. See my works."

The Doctor looked around. There were sentient machines, agricultural wonders, spacesuit prototypes, vehicles and a chemical refinery the size of a football field. Three men in lab coats were trying to set fire to a fourth wearing a dark skin-tight suit. On above them a man jumped into the air and hovered there while two scientists recorded data.

"Impressive," admitted the Doctor. He looked down. "But have you considered the cost?"

Below was the enclosure where Stewart Dougherty and his father were seated at a table. Stewart was constructing a complex model using colored sticks and wooden blocks while his father read aloud from a children's book.

"It's all because of that boy," Doctor Hardy said. "Every innovation you see here and dozens more. For centuries we've clawed our way up the evolutionary scale scavenging technologies of other races. That boy has enabled us to make our own progress; to forge our own path. We've gone from jackals to lions Doctor."

"And what of him?" asked the Doctor. "What of his progress?"

"His needs are met," Doctor Hardy said dismissively. "We have his father. He is fed, clothed, and cared for. He enjoys privileges society's elite know nothing about. And in return, he has shown us wonders. Come and see this."

They walked down to the enclosure. The boy's father looked up from his reading and watched them. His look of dread was obvious. The Doctor could imagine why. He saw the equation written on the walls. "What is this?"

A smile was on Doctor Hardy's face when he said, "We don't really know." He wrote it overnight a few months ago. We've managed to solve pieces of it. The Infinity Bomb was the result of one such solution. I'm working on the most complex part. I have theories as to what it could mean; all of them fantastic and inspiring. The _possibilities_, Doctor."

The Doctor read the equation, solving it. He shared the father's look of dread but for different reasons. The solution would unlock the remaining mysteries of the universe, knowledge beyond comprehension. Its revelation would end humanity and bring about a new race.

"What about the weapons?" the Doctor asked.

"The military provides our funding and support," Doctor Hardy said leading the Doctor into another laboratory. "Every once in a while we give them something to play with."

"Weapons of mass destruction are not toys," the Doctor said sternly. "Power of that magnitude…"

"Is ours now, Doctor," Doctor Hardy said. "We are an interstellar force' no longer the fumbling talking apes of the universe. All will come to know our might; the Sontarans, the Sycorax, even the Daleks. The human race will never, ever fear anything again."

"What you are saying is insanity," the Doctor said gesturing with every word. "Just take a moment. Just think. If that equation falls into the wrong hands…"

Doctor Hardy smiled. "Impossible as it only exists here and in the mind of that child." He straightened clasping his hands behind his back. "I was told you came here to negotiate. I find you have nothing to negotiate with and I see no need to entertain you any longer."

The Doctor saw his and the Executor's tools lying on a table nearby. "So, I assume it'll be a quick shot to the back of the head and then toss our bodies into space?"

"That is the usual treatment for infiltrators of secret military installations," Doctor Hardy replied plainly.

The Doctor took a quick step to the side and snatched up his screwdriver, the guards aiming their weapons at him barking several unintelligible orders.

"Relax minions," Doctor Hardy said. "We've scanned that device. It's nothing."

The Doctor grinned. He aimed the screwdriver at the ceiling. A moment later, the base's security system went on red alert. All over the labs, security doors slid into place and incapacitating gas shot from nozzles in the ceiling and floor. In the confusion, the Doctor grabbed the Executor's tool and fled, escaping before being sealed in.


	7. McCoy

**McCoy**

Red lights flashed and alarms blared. All was chaos. The base was a cacophony of boots tramping on metal and officers barking commands in the hope of restoring order. Staying unnoticed, the Doctor made his way to the enclosure. Arriving there he found it sealed, the transparent walls and the door protected by heavy metal shutters. Looking around to make sure no one was paying attention, the Doctor got to work with his screwdriver.

"Took you long enough," River said as she and the Executor arrived. Sweating and carrying a rifle, she took up a flanking position.

The Doctor handed the Executor's tool over his shoulder. "I'm almost through."

"Is this where they're keeping the child?" The Executor asked, twirling his weapon.

"Yes and his father," the Doctor said.

"Couldn't change that one mind, could you?" the Executor asked.

"I'm going to give it another try," the Doctor replied.

"And then?" The shutters on the enclosure retreated and the door opened. The Executor cast a glance inside, seeing the boy and his father.

"Then I stop them," the Doctor said gravely. He ran off. "Get them to the TARDIS!"

The Executor looked again at the terrified father with his son and gestured with his chin. "Get in there. I'll cover our escape."

"With a sonic screwdriver, I think not," River said.

"HOLD IT THERE!"

Several soldiers rushed forward. Blaster bolts slammed into the floor and the enclosure around them. The Executor twirled his tool, a portion of the handle folding down forming a grip a small button extended; a trigger. Putting the rod to his cheek, he opened fire. Charged balls of black light felled the attacking force with pinpoint accuracy. He turned to River who gave him a surprised but approving look.

"I call it a 'maverick'," the Executor said. "Think of it as a Time Lord multi-tool." He grabbed in front of the grip and folded down another handle.

"Gotta love Time Lord Technology," River said. "Could you make me one of those?"

"Ask your husband," the Executor said, "he's the one who made it." He gestured with his chin as more troops approached. "Go!"

Max stood, getting between Stewart and the wild-haired woman. Unarmed he put up his fists. "You stop right there Miss."

River held up her hands pointing her gun away. "Please, we're here to help you."

"Really now?" said Max in disbelief.

"They're taking advantage of him," River said, "making him into something he's not, corrupting him; turning him into a weapon. Believe me when say I know what he's going through. We're here to make them stop."

Max lost his fervor but did not drop his hands. "There are things you don't understand."

"He's just a boy," River said. "He is remarkable and miraculous but he's just a boy, and he needs to be just a boy. This is no place for him."

"How do I know you're not like them?" Max asked.

River offered her rifle. "Take it."

Max took the weapon and trained it on her, "Now what?"

River nodded. "We have a ship. We'll take you wherever you want to go. No one will take advantage of him ever again."

Max thought about it a moment. "All right then."

River looked to the boy. "What's his name?"

"I'm Max and he's Stewart," Max said. "Don't expect him to say much. He's afflicted, he is. Doesn't speak unless he wants, doesn't do anything unless he wants."

"Will he come with us?" River asked. She nearly gasped when the young boy took her hand. She gave him a determined smile. "We are going to take good care of you."

The Executor appeared in the doorway. "We need to be leaving now." He stepped aside as River, Max and Stewart moved past. The Executor paused, reading the equation. Its solution caused him to turn and stare in disbelief at the young boy holding River's hand.

**The Executor**

Bellows entered the sealed lab wearing a breathing mask, leading a compliment of troops. Inside, he found the scientists, Doctor Hardy and two of his men incapacitated. His troops filed around the room making sure that it was secure. Bellows stood next to Doctor Hardy.

"Activate the exhaust fans," he ordered. When the gas cleared, he removed his mask. "On your feet Doctor Hardy."

Doctor Hardy's eyes opened and he sat up. "Where is he? Where is the Doctor?"

"We don't know," Bellows replied. "We're getting alarms from everywhere. There are intruder alerts on every deck. Electronic surveillance is out. We've managed to unseal the bulk of the station but we're going to have to search level by level."

"No we don't," Doctor Hardy said. He got to his feet smoothing his lab coat and his jet-black hair. "I know exactly where he's going."

Hustling along crowded corridors full of running personnel, they descended to the enclosure. Inside they found the Doctor examining Stewart's finished construction. Reinforcements arrived, surrounding the structure, their weapons trained. Bellows, Hardy, and a platoon of soldiers filed inside.

"Do you know what this is?" the Doctor asked as the soldiers ignoring the soldiers charging their weapons. "It is a perfect model replica of a quantum particle." He pointed. "He even got the two spiky bits on the end."

"Where is he?" Doctor Hardy asked.

The Doctor continued to examine the model. "Safe."

"Which is more than I can say for you," Doctor Hardy seethed.

The Doctor straightened; his face grim, "Actually that's my line. See I've been a busy, busy boy. I hacked into your security system and rendered you blind, deaf, and mute. Then visited your propulsion and helm controls and rendered you completely and utterly immobile. Your defenses are done for. Only life support and artificial gravity are left. Well them…and the escape pods."

"And why would we have need of those?" Bellows asked.

"Because the next system I visited was your self-destruct," the Doctor said.

"That requires voice activation and biometric confirmation from the commander of this station," Bellows said, "and you will not get me to cooperate."

"I figured as much," the Doctor interrupted. "That is why I paid a visit to your armory and activated your remaining Infinity Bomb. In five minutes this station is going to achieve infinite density and cease to exist along with everything in it." He centered his gaze on Doctor Hardy. "There was only one race of beings who cracked this equation and even they with all their wisdom and knowledge were corrupted by it in the end." His face flashed with regret. "For it they were destroyed. That fate will not befall humanity. Not as long as I live." He pointed his sonic screwdriver at the walls of the enclosure. They shattered into tiny pieces destroying the equation.

"NO!" screamed Doctor Hardy.

"Four minutes fifteen seconds," the Doctor warned.

Bellows turned to his men. "Evacuate the station!" They immediately retreated.

"You will not stop me!" Doctor Hardy seethed. He rushed out disappearing among the soldiers.

"No, Doctor Hardy!" the Doctor called, racing after him.


	8. McGann

**McGann**

The Executor led the way around a corner. They were nearing the TARDIS, the glowing "Police Public Call Box" sign visible in the semi-darkness. The Executor leaned out and was greeted by blaster fire. He returned fire, his shots forcing their attackers to take cover.

"How does it look?" River called, taking the rifle from Max.

"They've got us pinned down!" the Executor yelled over the din of their return volley. "We can't get to your TARDIS or mine!" He fired another volley. "I may have to kill some of them!"

"You haven't been killing them?" River asked.

"Trying it his way!" explained the Executor.

"ATTENTION! ALL HANDS ABANDON SHIP! REPEAT ALL HANDS ABANDON SHIP! EXECUTIVE ORDER ALPHA-FIVE! ABANDON SHIP!"

The fire from the soldiers stopped. The Executor risked a glance and saw them retreating. "The Doctor?" he asked.

"In all likelihood," River said. She and the Executor moved into the open keeping their weapons ready in case a few soldiers changed their mind. "Max, get Stewart inside!"

"What is that an escape pod?" Max asked. The doors opened and he stepped across the threshold. The immensity of the room inside stopped him short. He was tempted to walk outside and make sure that he was not going crazy. He was halted by River as she rushed in. "But?"

"Yes, yes, it's bigger on the inside ooh, ah!" River said as she ran up the stairs to the console finding Stewart staring at the controls. She gently moved him aside and put the TARDIS in flight.

"Wait, what about those other chaps?" Max asked.

"I'm going to get you two clear of here," River said. "The Executor has his own ride."

Outside, the Executor waited until the Doctor's TARDIS was completely dematerialized before rushing into his own. He jumped into his command seat, sliding up to his console. Pressing a few buttons, he took hold of the control bars. Kicking the peg at his left foot and giving the throttle a twist, his TARDIS took off. Outside, the extra door disappeared, a repetitive whooshing noise in its wake.

The Executor frowned at his system's display. "All right you raving lunatic, where are you?"

**The Executor**

Inside the station's armory, Doctor Hardy stood at the controls of the Infinity Bomb fruitlessly trying to access its systems. He slapped at it repeatedly, the bomb rocking in its cradle. Wild-eyed, hair askew, he raged and kicked the deadly weapon. "I made you!" he roared at the inanimate object. "Speak to me!"

"It can't," said the Doctor standing nearby. "I've dead-locked the controls; sealed you out. One minute-ten."

Doctor Hardy drew a blaster from the pocket of his lab coat. "Unseal it."

The Doctor held up a hand. "Come with me. It doesn't have to be like this. You don't have to be like this. I understand everything you told me about humanity's struggle but you don't know what I know. You don't know that you'll be better for it. Humanity will rise above its humble interstellar beginnings and become something far greater. The human ideal will be achieved, trust me. In fact, don't trust me. Come with me and I'll show you."

"Show me?" Doctor Hardy frowned. His brain worked through the implication. "The corridors of time are real? My hypothesis is correct?"

"Yes, the Time Vortex," the Doctor said earnestly. "Through it you can travel anywhere in time and space. I can show you humanity's future and you will see that I am right."

Doctor Hardy eyes glazed over. "If we could master this Time Vortex our supremacy will be assured."

"No," the Doctor lamented shaking his head. "Stop! Listen to me!"

"We would rule the universe," Doctor Hardy said dreamily.

"No!" the Doctor pleaded.

"We would be gods!" Doctor Hardy exclaimed. He aimed his blaster at the Doctor's face. "You will show this to me!"

The Doctor lowered his hands in defeat. Beneath him a hatch materialized. It fell open and he dropped through as Doctor Hardy opened fire. The door slamming shut, a second later, it was gone. Three seconds after that, so was the station.

**The Executor**

River worked at the console, keeping the TARDIS level. Behind her, Stewart watched her work with keen interest. Max continued staring at every aspect of the room. From the top of the stairs leading further into the ship, he gazed in awe.

"How is?"

"Time And Relative Dimension in Space," River recited. "We're inside another dimension contained within the box on the outside."

"Right," Max said.

She twisted a dial. "We're going to hold here until they get back."

Max descended the stairs and met her at the console. "I want to thank you. What you did for us. What you did for him."

"It was my pleasure." River said, placing a hand on his.

"Thing is," Max said. "I tried to tell you before. I mean I agreed to everything. Thought it would help with his affliction. Get him to open up, you know? And it worked. I'd never seen him so engaged."

"What do you mean?" River asked.

"They didn't come for him," Max said. "He contacted them, the government. What kid knows how to do that, right? They built everything but it was his designs, all of it. Perhaps now he'll have a chance to be normal."

River's mouth dropped open in shock. She turned to the little boy and really looked at him. His cherubic face. His big brown eyes. His distant affectation but then he looked back at her and it was there; a gleam of something horrible.


	9. Eccelston

**Eccelston**

The Executor's TARDIS materialized inside the Doctor's TARDIS at the bottom of the steps, in front of the doors, appearing as an exact copy of the Doctor's TARDIS down to the shade of blue paint. The door opened and the Executor appeared.

"I'm just saying one trip round the galaxy," the Doctor urged. "Just a quick jaunt, it's been forever since I flew another TARDIS."

"Not going to happen," the Executor said. He looked at his ship grimacing "Really?"

The Doctor turned and grinned. "Ah well, when in Rome." He gave the Executor's TARDIS a pat on the side. "Besides, your old girl has never looked better." He saw River standing at the console. "Hello sweetie, ah! I've done it again. Sorry, that's your line." Prancing up the steps, he gave her a kiss on the cheek. He paused, seeing the look on her face. "What?"

"I'm so sorry, sweetie," River said, her eyes overflowing.

The Doctor frowned and took her face in his hands, kissing away her tears. "River, no. We did it. We saved Max and his son; we stopped the military from constructing another Infinity Bomb ever again. I couldn't save Doctor Hardy but," He turned and gestured toward the Executor, "I didn't need him. You told me I'd need him but I didn't." He paused considering the implications. "Why would you tell me that? Why would you convince me to get him if I didn't, I didn't need him?"

River took the Doctor's hands away from her face and looked past him to the Executor. "When you revealed yourself to me you said that he needed to find you. That his soul depended on it."

"Did I?" the Executor asked.

"This was what you were talking about," River said, "this choice." She looked at the boy. "It's time for you to make good."

"What?" Max asked, moving to his son, sensing danger. "What are we talking about now?"

The Executor walked up the steps to the console, staring at the little boy. His voice heavy and final he said, "I understand."

The Doctor looked to the boy, to his father, to River, the Executor. The Executor's reached into his waistcoat. The Doctor leaped between the other Time Lord and the father and son. "No!"

"Doctor!" pleaded River.

"What is this?" Max yelled grabbing his son.

The Doctor turned slightly to Max. "I was focused on the wrong mind." He growled in frustration. "I thought it was Doctor Hardy but it was Stewart. His was the mind that needed changing." He held up a hand towards the Executor. "I haven't failed yet. It's not over. I can still do this."

"Doctor, look at him," the Executor said, his voice flat and even. "Look at him and see. The condition is terminal, Doctor."

"I do not believe that!" the Doctor ground out.

"Remember the last time you didn't believe?" the Executor asked; his tone devoid of sarcasm or judgment. "This need not be your burden to bear. Not this time. This is for me. I'll get it done. I am the Executor. Execution is what I do. In all its forms."

Despairing, the Doctor looked to River finding her equally distraught but resigned. He turned to Max huddled around his son. In the boy's eyes he found the truth of everything. The weight of it threatened to bring him to his knees. He looked back to the Executor, stepping forward; his maverick in hand.

"You can't do this!" Max pleaded. "He's a boy! What kind of people are you to save him and then kill him?" He pulled his son tighter to him. "I can watch over him. I can make sure he doesn't do anything like this again!"

"That's no guarantee," the Executor said. "The solution to the equation is in his mind. With it he could unravel the universe."

"But he'd need resources, yeah?" Max said. "We don't have that anymore. He can't even lift the tools." He began to cry. "Please, just wait!"

The Executor raised his maverick, his expression cold. "I'm sorry."

The Doctor straightened. "Stop!" He held up his hands. "Max is right. They don't have the resources. All we need to do is make sure they never have them and the danger is neutralized."

The Executor lowered his maverick narrowing his eyes. "What are you thinking?"

The Doctor gestured. "All we need to do is put them in the perfect place in time; somewhere technology will be too primitive for him to do anything and I think I know where."

"I don't care," Max said. "Drop us off in the Stone Age. Just don't kill my boy."

"I don't think we'll have to go back that far," the Doctor said.


	10. Tennant

**Tennant**

The doors to the TARDIS opened, the Doctor passing through into the Executor's ship. Max and Stewart were set up in their new home in London at the dawn of the Industrial Revolution. Stewart could live out the rest of his life seeing his ideas growing to non-universe-destroying theoretical conclusions.

"Sorry to keep you on the bench, but I've learned quite a bit over the years," the Doctor said, leaning against one of the chairs.

From his command seat, the Executor smiled. "I don't know about that."

"Oh?" the Doctor asked.

"History has proven that you are capable of unimaginable atrocity when the universe is at stake," the Executor said. "Were it not for me playing the role of heartless assassin, it would have been you. When pressed, you would not have hesitated. I enabled you to step back and see your solution. Just what you needed."

"That is a theory," the Doctor said. "How do you support it?"

"The absence of Gallifrey," the Executor said simply. Behind him a star chart displayed a system in the Kasterborous Constellation with its missing planet. "You did it then?"

The Doctor nodded grimly.

"The only solution for a terminal condition," the Executor said. "If only you'd been able to step back."

"Something I've thought about every day since," the Doctor lamented. He sniffed and stood straight. "So what now, back to your padded room?"

The Executor shook his head. "I've never seen the universe without the Time Lords." He tossed the Doctor his fob watch. "Keep it handy though."

"I hope not to have to use it," the Doctor said, tucking it into a pocket. "I'm here if you need me."

"I know," the Executor said.

The Doctor bowed at the waist. "Lord Executor."

The Executor nodded. "Lord Doctor."

The Doctor threw the Executor a salute before turning and heading through the door as it irised shut. The Executor turned back to his console, several screens appearing with star charts and other information. On the screen to his right was live image of Max and Stewart outside their new home. The Executor stared at the boy. The boy seemed to stare back at him. Tapping a button, he turned off the screen. He tapped two more buttons, kicked the peg at his foot, twisted the throttle and took off.

**The Executor**

Back inside his TARDIS, the Executor's TARDIS disappearing behind him, the Doctor approached the controls. He flipped several switches and pulled the main control lever. River took a place at another panel and assisted.

"So, _two_ Time Lords now?" she said.

"For now," the Doctor agreed.

"How do you feel not being the last anymore?" River asked.

"Worried," the Doctor said. "For a long time, the same look little Stewart had could be found in the Executor's eyes. When I think about what it took to extinguish it…"

"Do you believe he'll go back to the way he was?" River asked.

"I don't know," the Doctor said. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the watch. After a moment, he tucked it back into his pocket. Turning to River he grinned. "So?"

"So indeed," River countered.

"Dinner at your parents to make up for leaving them behind?" asked the Doctor.

"Sounds delightful," River said pressing several buttons. "Fancy a swim on the way?"

"Sounds disgraceful," the Doctor said with a grin.


	11. Smith

**Smith**

It was cold and snowing; fitting for the eve of the New Year and the end to the Christmas Holiday. Max, now going by his full name "Maxwell" strolled through the London streets toward home. He tipped his top hat to others as they passed, some greeting him by name. Having been a repair man in his own time, his skills with the more primitive technology of the day had earned him a fine reputation and a sizeable fortune. Coming to his house, he stepped inside, greeted by his proper and bosomy maid Celine.

"Evening, sir," she said taking his coat. "All is handled for the night. You have a meal sitting in the oven. That was a wonderful idea, letting the dying coals keep the food warm."

"Thank you, Celine," Max said, handing her his hat and gloves. "Where is Stewart?"

"In his room, same as always, sir," Celine said. "I left a plate for him outside his door. Don't know if he got it."

"I'll check," Max said. "The hour is late. You button yourself up and depart. I'll leave the dishes for you in the morning."

"Thank you sir," Celine said as she got her coat. "The way the weather's been these days. Lightning and all with no rain, sir, it's a bad omen it is."

Max cast a wary eye up the stairs. "I'm sure it's just Mother Nature ironing out the creases. Good night."

Celine gone, he headed up the stairs. At the top he looked down the hall toward the closed door at the end. On the floor was an empty plate. Behind the door, flashes of light shone through the cracks. Max sighed, his mind and heart filling with worry.

There was a knock at the door. Celine must have forgotten something. He hustled over. Opening it, expecting to see his fresh-faced maid. His shoulders dropped. "I've been expecting you. Please come in."

He turned and led his caller into his sitting room.

"How've you been?" the visitor asked.

"Well," Max said. He went to a mirrored table and poured a glass of brandy. "My future knowledge has made life here most bearable." He took a drink. "You've come for him then?"

"Yes."

Max spoke over his shoulder. "You knew didn't you? You always knew."

"Yes."

"Thank you," Max said.

"For?"

"Giving me the chance," Max said, "and for giving me the time with him." His hand traveled beneath the table, closing over the butt of a revolver. "Know that I understand your position. I really do."

"And I understand yours."

Max finished his drink and set the glass on the table. "All right then." He turned and fired the gun.

**The Executor**

The door to Stewart's room opened. Inside was a forest of glass tubes and beakers, gas burners, and a large magnet wrapped in wire; spinning and conducting a visible current between two metal balls. Wires led to a makeshift dish pointed outside an open window. The walls and ceiling were covered in the equation from the space station. In the heart of the room was a cluttered desk. Sitting in a chair facing the door was sixteen-year-old Stewart Dougherty.

He watched his visitor enter. The man wore the same outfit from before but had added a draping burgundy coat with bronze buttons and a deep hood. He drew back that hood, revealing his face. The pair locked gazes.

"Hello Stewart," greeted the Executor.

"Hello," Stewart replied; his voice soft with a budding manly baritone.

The Executor looked around the room. "It took longer than I thought."

"My father was very diligent in his efforts to keep me contained." He glanced at the door. "Did you kill him?"

The Executor's face was neutral. "Yes."

Stewart nodded. "I am sad. I had been meaning to tell him that I loved him for his sacrifices. I planned to do so at Christmas but got preoccupied. Do you suppose he knew?"

"I believe we reveal everything, even what is unsaid," the Executor replied.

"I had thought that the other one would come for me," Stewart said. "Is it because he could not kill me?"

The Executor shook his head. "It's because it would kill him if he did."

Stewart seemed to consider this, "Interesting." His hand flashed out. Draped around it was a metal framework with a crystal at the center of his palm. A current of electricity shot out; the sound as loud as a thunderclap.

**The Executor**

The door to the Dougherty house opened, a hooded figure exiting. The street was deserted. Nights in Victorian London were a dangerous time to be outside. The cold did not help either. The figure let out a shuddering sigh, his breath escaping in a foggy cloud. He looked down at his hand and the smoking maverick. Twirling it back into a cylinder, he tucked it into his coat.

The Executor took a step toward a black carriage pulled by ebony horses when he spotted a light at the end of the street. Pulling back his hood, he recognized the blue box. A door opened and the Doctor appeared, his face stern but resigned. The two Time Lords shared a look before the Doctor nodded and went back inside. His TARDIS' engines whirred to life as the Executor climbed inside his carriage. The horses pulled the carriage a few meters down the lane before they and the carriage disappeared leaving the street silent and devoid of life.

**The**

**End**


End file.
